Heavy hitters Mike Pierce and Johny Hendricks are expected to collide at the pay-per-view event, which takes place at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on August 6th.

Both men have faced some of the top fighters in their divisions, and though they have struggled, they have proven their mettle and with a win here, either man could vaunt themselves back to the upper echelon of the division.

MMAJunkie.com has been able to confirm with sources close to the negotiation process that both Pierce and Hendricks have agreed to the welterweight affair.

Hendricks, an import from the now defunct WEC promotion, has shown that his heavy hands and collegiate wrestling credentials could prove to be the deciding factor in all but one of his fights. Undefeated as a professional heading into his bout with Rick Story at “The Ultimate Fighter 12 Finale” last December, many looked to Hendricks to be one of the new rising stars in the 170-pound ranks, though Rick had other plans. Story was able to nullify many takedown attempts from Hendricks throughout the match-up and wore down Johny when clinched against the fence and landed some decent shots on the feet which eventually earned him the judges decision.

Johny bounced back from his first career defeat when he took on T.J. Waldburger at at UFC Fight Night 24 this past March. Hendricks stormed T.J. early with devastating and unrelenting right and left hooks which sent Waldburger crashing to the mat. A few ground and pound blows later, and the fight was stopped less than two-minutes of the opening round. The impressive stoppage earned Hendricks the evenings “Knockout of the Night” award.

Pierce, meanwhile, is currently riding a three-fight win streak inside the octagon. In his last outing, Pierce was able to quickly dispatch of organizational newcomer Kenny Robertson with a one-sided second-round TKO victory. The win propelled him to three in-a-row since a decision loss to perennial contender and former title challenger Jon Fitch in his second bout with the UFC in December of 2009.

The winner of this bout will likely move back into the top tier of the division and with a few more wins could be in talks for title contention in the immediate future.

So, MMA peeps, what do you think of the news? Sound off in the comment section below.

While much of the attention of the crows surrounded both the co-main and headlining bouts, which featured knockout artists Anthony Johnson and Dan Hardy in welterweight action, while Phil Davis met with legend Antonio Rogerio Nogueira in a 205-pound bout—a pair of bantamweights stole the show, “The Korean Zombie” surprised the crowd with a submission, and Johnny Hendricks dropped bombs en route to a TKO win.

And those men, for their efforts, picked up “Fight Night” bonuses for their stellar performances.

Michael McDonald, though only 20-years-old, has been lauded as a big thing in the 135-pound division. Having debuted in the WEC in impressive fashion with a first-round submission win over veteran Clint Godfrey, everyone was anticipating his inception into the UFC, and he failed to disappoint when he engaged in a three-round brawl with Chris Figueroa, who stepped up on short notice for an injured Nick Pace. Both Figueroa and McDonald set a frantic pace, with punches thrown on the feet and with Chris’ inability to be submitted by the multiple attempts thrown by Michael. In the end, the decision was clearly Mcdonald’s, however both men could take solace in the fact that they walked home with the “Fight of the Night” bonus, which netted both of them with $55k.

Meanwhile, Chan Sung Jung finally debuted in the UFC in a highly anticipated rematch with Leonard Garcia, and while the fight in of itself largely didn’t live up to the hype of their original meeting, which was coveted as “fight of the decade” by UFC commentator Joe Rogan–Jung still managed to pull off an inspiring win, nonetheless. Both men traded punches in the first-round, but not with the sort of reckless abandonment that the initial encounter had endured. A scramble in the end of the first round found Jung on Garcia’s back dropping bombs, which would later be a testament to Chan’s high-level grappling skills, which were on display in the second, when Jung was able to take Garcia’s back again, lock both Leonard’s head and leg, contorting the hold into a sort of “crank” on both appendages, which was later dubbed “the twister”–a submission hold invented and popularized by Jiu-Jitsu guru, Eddie Bravo. Leonard tapped with just one second left in the round, and with Jung’s first win under the Zuffa banner, he also posts the evenings “Submission of the Night” bonus.

Johny Hendricks, the collegiate Division I All-American was also in action, and while he was coming off of his first defeat in his professional mixed martial arts career, he didn’t shy from swinging for the fences against opponent T.J. Waldburger. Both men found themselves clinched against the cage early during the welterweight affair, where Hendricks quickly unloaded his patented hooks, with his left finding it’s mark. After dropping Waldburger hard to the mat, Johny followed up with additional blows on the ground, which only sealed the fate for T.J., giving Hendricks the TKO win, which helped him bounce back from a close and contentious decision loss to top contender Rick Story. With the win, the resident of Las Vegas also earned the event’s “Knockout of the Night” award, netting him an additional $55k.

So, MMA peeps, what did you think of the card as a whole? Did you think the awards were just, or would you have liked to have seen someone else earn a specific reward according to their performance? Sound off in the comment section below.

While both men have seen better days, they meet at an impasse as both men are coming off of losses inside the UFC, however in the case of Paulo, it could be night night to his once promising career under the Zuffa banner.

There isn’t really any better way to make a splash in the welterweight division, at least not like knocking out perennial contender Josh Koscheck in your organization debut. However, the loss likely set the Brazilian up for failure as he has since yet to receive any sympathy inside the cage, and Hendricks will give him no less.

MMAJunkie.com has reported that verbal agreements are in place for the welterweight fight, which takes place at “UFC on Versus 3″ at the KFC Yum! Arena in Louisville, Ky. on March 3.

For the first time in his career, Thiago is coming off consecutive losses inside the octagon. In fact, it wasn’t until the Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt made his inception into the UFC that he suffered any career losses. Among his three losses in the cage, they have all been against top-flight competition with Jon Fitch, Martin Kampann, and Diego Sanchez (respectively) among those to thank.

Paulo is a three-time recipient of the coveted UFC bonus, having won “Fight of the Night”, “Submission of the Night”, and “Knockout of the Night” at least on one occasion.

However, he will likely have a hard time making a fight with the Div. I collegiate wrestling champion Johny Hendricks all that exciting.

Hendricks has already carried the reputation of being an underdeveloped mixed martial artist since he was introduced into the UFC in August of 2009, where he has since went to three uninspired decisions–losing the final one when he was pitted against budding contender Rick Story last December. The loss snapped Johny’s nine-fight win streak in his previously undefeated career as a professional.

Though to his credit, he is still a developing fighter, only making his pro debut in 2007 and since found himself in the UFC.

So, MMA peeps, what do you think about the welterweight fight? Thiago has had problems with people taking him down and controlling him on the ground. And in Johny, it looks like Paulo will have anything but problems with the stocky Oklahoma native. Sound off in the comment section below.

After Anderson pulled out a Hail Mary, fifth round submission, after challenger Chael Sonnen dominated the Brazilian for the better part of 4 and half rounds, the Blackhouse teammate was able to pocket “Fight of the Night” and “Submission of the Night” honors, on top of a hefty payday.

The figures below, which is formatted from MMAJunkie.com, were originally disclosed by the California State Athletic Commission, following the bout on August 7.

Anderson Silva: $200,000 (no win bonus)
def. Chael Sonnen: $35,000

Jon Fitch: $108,000 (includes $54,000 win bonus)
def. Thiago Alves: $60,000

Clay Guida: $56,000 ($28,000 win bonus)
def. Rafael dos Anjos: $12,000

Matt Hughes: $200,000 ($100,000 win bonus)
def. Ricardo Almeida: $35,000

Junior Dos Santos: $80,000 ($40,000 win bonus)
def. Roy Nelson: $15,000

Rick Story: $22,000 ($11,000 win bonus)
def. Dustin Hazelett: $18,000

Phil Davis: $18,000 ($9,000 win bonus)
def. Rodney Wallace: $6,000

Johny Hendricks: $40,000 ($20,000 win bonus)
def. Charlie Brenneman: $8000

Tim Boetsch: $32,000 ($16,000 win bonus)
def. Todd Brown: $6,000

Stefan Struve: $30,000 ($15,000 win bonus)
def. Christian Morecraft: $6,000

Dennis Hallman: $30,000 ($15,000 win bonus)
def. Ben Saunders: $12,000

So, Anderson and Matt Hughes were the night’s top earners, deservedly so, but…is anyone surprised by the numbers? For a long time, Anderson has been coveted by UFC President Dana White, as the best pound-for-pound fighter on the planet, however his numbers don’t represent that. 6 figures, yes, however, a 12-0 i run in the UFC, and moves to light heavyweight would attract a larger base pay and win bonus for the Brazilian, should GSP rack in larger numbers.

Some can make the argument that yes, Georges St. Pierre is a much more popular fighter than Silva of course, at least with Anderson’s most recent performances (aside from UFC 101 and 117), but should popularity or credentials be more decisive come contract time, and a fighters due?

It’s something I run back and forth with, and can’t really decide. I guess that’s why they leave it up to head honchos to figure that kind of stuff out, but what do you think? Performance vs Popularity, which is greater?

Johny Hendricks vs Charlie Brenneman

Will Hendricks ever see a UFC main card, ever again?

Marking his UFC debut in some-what controversial action, when he knocked off season 7 ultimate fighter winner Amir Sadollah, with a barrage of punches early, signaling the referee to wave off the contest in just 29-seconds into the first round.

None the less, Hendricks has backed up his performance with two more commanding performances inside the octagon against Gabriel Gonzaga teammate, Ricardo Funch, as well as Canadian TJ Grant, in his most recent performances. While his style primarily consists of a ground and pound effort, made popular by his teammates and recognized collegiate wrestlers Jake Rosholt and Shane Roller based out of Team Takedown (ironically enough), out of Las Vegas, Nev., Hendricks is still waiting for another stoppage victory inside the octagon, in order to make an immediate impact in the UFC’s crowded welterweight division–but Brenneman might not be the right type of opponent for such a feat.

Brenneman, a winner of the popular “Pros vs Joes” show on SpikeTV, has opened up his MMA career with a respectable 11-1 record, and hails out of team AMA Fight Club, with the likes of Miller brothers Dan (UFC middleweight) and Jim (UFC lightweight contender), Eddie Alvarez, Chris Liguori, and UFC champion Frankie Edgar at his disposal, the sky is the limit for Brenneman.

While most believed that DREAM welterweight grand prix finalist Jason High had the wrestling credentials to stifle any of Charlie’s offense, which includes an evolving ground game with impressive strikes from within guard, “The Spaniard” was able to nullify most of his takedown offenses, enroute to a unanimous decision victory in his UFC debut–but he won’t be nearly as lucky with Hendricks.

Johny, who has some of the more impressive wrestling credentials in the UFC’s welterweight division with consecutive NCAA Division I titles in 2005 and 2006, and a 2007 second place finish, has the stuff to get the nod in what will sure to be his fourth consecutive win inside the octagon, which may earn him some much needed TV time, post fight.

Johny Hendricks via Unanimous Decision

Phil Davis vs Rodney Wallace

This bout won’t require too much finesse, as that outcome seems all but a done deal for 205-pound stud, Phil Davis, who has been likened to a phenom of the UFC’s light heavyweight division, much like that of Jon Jones, and for good reason..he’s that good.

Just under two years in the game, and with the sort of wrestling pedigree that Davis comes from, theres no reason why the sky would be limit for the 25-year-old out of Pennsylvania.

Opening up his UFC debut against former WEC light heavyweight champion Brian Stann, Phil controlled every aspect of the fight, with an agressive ground game, moving to mount at near will, applying submissions, but eventually settling for a unanimous decision. His next bout saw him step in on short notice against heavy handed striker Alexander Gustafsson, eventually ending it with an anaconda choke in the last moments of the first round.

Rodney, though, has not been as lucky. After dropping back-to-back bouts against the aforementioned Stann and then to Jared Hamman (though winning “Fight of the Night” honors in a crowd pleaser), Wallace has the wrestling, but not that on the level of Davis.

While Wallace stands at just 5’9 in a sea of monsters in the 205 pound division, he will meet his end and inevitable walking papers after said bout.

Davis’ evolving Jiu-Jitsu game will come into play.

Phil Davis via Submission Rd. 1

Last but certainly not least…

Dustin Hazelett vs Rick Story

An intriguing welterweight matchup against the returning Jiu-Jitsu officionado Hazelett and Rick Story, will be an early “Fight of the Night”, says I.

With Story’s vitality and Hazelett’s obvious ground skills, the outcome of this fight is a serious toss up.

Dustin in his last fight, was seen on the losing side of things, opposite of UFC castoff Paul Daley, when he was viciously knocked out with a left hook followed up by additional punches on the ground after a hairy standup exchange went a wry–but dont let that fool you.

“McLovin” has a good standup arsenal, as most may remember him rocking Koscheck early with a punch-high kick combo several fights back, though he lost, gained much respect.

Since then, Hazelett has shown every bit of the Jiu-jitsu black belt he is, submitting Josh Burkman in a crafty wizor-to armbar transition that still has people gawking.

Story though, is a specimen himself. A strong, durable, welterweight, doesn’t know the meaning of “back up”. as his style is ingrained solely on moving forward and on the constant offense.

This style may be his downfall, as even exchanges early may see Story over zealous, and impatient, taking the fight to the mat and eventually meeting his demise.

Dustin Hazelett via Submission, Rd. 3

tune in for the Main Card break down—and keep in mind I’m no “high authority”, just offering opinion and open to discussion to anyone and all.

UFC 107 takes place in Memphis Saturday headlined by Fighters.com and UFC Lightweight Champion “Prodigy” BJ Penn (12-4-1) versus tenth-ranked “Nightmare” Diego Sanchez (19-2-0).  A fight we are not scheduled to see is undefeated Johny Hendricks (6-0) versus UFC newcomer Ricardo Funch (7-0) as it is slated for the prelims. This is robbery at it’s finest.

Johny Hendricks was brought into the UFC after the WEC eliminated the welterweight division. His first fight was the coming out party for The Ultimate Fighter 7 winner Amir Sadollah (2-1). Amir had dropped out of two previously scheduled fights due to a leg infection and a broken clavicle respectively. So at UFC 101 in Philadelphia August 8, Amir was set to make his post-TUF debut.

Enter Hendricks, who has been on my personal radar for some time now. He was a two-time NCAA Division 1 national champion wrestler at Oklahoma State University as well as being a two-time All American and three-time Big 12 Conference champion. His amazing wrestling worked for him when he worked to get a D’Arce choke against Richard Gamble (2-3) at Extreme Fighting League on HDNet.

Against Amir, wrestling would not play a part. It would be the hands of Johny that would spoil the return to the Octagon for Amir Sadollah. The fight would end in 29 seconds as Dan Miragliotta stopped the fight due to strikes. Many criticized the stoppage as you can see Amir start to get back up in the replay, but his words to Dan were the telltale sign. He asked Dan what happened and only a fighter that was rocked would ask that question.

Whether you believe the stoppage was correct or not, Hendricks came away with the win and in outstanding fashion. Amir lost and yet his next fight was on the main card of UFC 106 against “New York Badass” Phil Baroni (13-12).While Phil may not be an elite fighter, he has fought the best in the business and always puts on a show, even if it only lasts for one round. Yet, Hendricks, the man who crushed Amir, is stuck on the prelims against a UFC newcomer. Shouldn’t beating the TUF winner so decisively warrant a spot on the main card?

With that TKO of Amir, the UFC has all the ammunition it needs to promote Hendricks as a star in the welterweight division. This is a time when the UFC finds itself in a situation with marketable stars at a premium with fighters such as second-ranked, UFC heavyweight champ Brock Lesnar (3-1) out with illness indefinitely.

Some may wonder how he can be marketed with such a small body of work. His wrestling background is a start. We have seen the UFC market many fighters simply by touting their wrestling pedigree. Hendricks has proved to not be the prototypical wrestler though. Wrestlers take time to develop a striking game and yet Johny currently has four stoppages via (T)KO in 6 fights. All of this by a wrestler who most seem to expect to work for a take down and work ground and pound. He is becoming a complete fighter in short order and an exciting one at that. WEC footage of his “Fight of the Night”, the fast slaughter of a TUF champ and his wrestling background would make it easy to push him up the ranks. He is more than marketable and this fight makes no sense when they are looking to build new stars to fill what has recently been lackluster pay per views.

UFC President Dana White and UFC Matchmaker Joe Silva have done a fantastic job thus far when it comes to building stars. Usually I have no issues whatsoever with who they bring up through the ranks, but I see this as a misstep of epic proportions. A victory over Funch really adds nothing to his resume other than another “W”, while a loss cripples his chances at getting on the televised portion of a pay-per-view in the future. This is all risk and zero reward for the UFC as well as for Hendricks.

One must strike while the iron is hot so to speak and right now, Johny Hendricks is as hot as War Machine is wanted by the police.

Maybe I am not seeing the entire picture and somehow I have missed where Hendricks deserves to be on an under card against a fighter that is not equal to an Amir Sadollah in name recognition. Then again maybe I am right and Johny Henricks has been robbed of stardom thanks to Joe Silva and the UFC.

Fighters.com has not confirmed the report and the UFC has not announced the matchup.

Hendricks whipped The Ultimate Fighter 7 champ Amir Sadollah (1-1) in 29 seconds at UFC 101 in Philadelphia August 8.

Funch will debut in the UFC after winning a three-round unanimous decision over Denis Grachev (3-1) at Cage Fight MMA 2 in Manchester, New Hampshire in August 2008.

Funch trains at Team Link with fellow Brazilian “Napão” Gabriel Gonzaga (11-4).

Miragliotta emphasized, “You know me and have spoken with me about other fights, my job is to protect the fighters and I try and do my best to do that.”

Sadollah began the fight lunging forward in a 1-2 combination, but ate a Hendricks straight left that backed Sadollah up stunned. Hendricks smelled blood in the Octagon and followed Sadollah landing a series of uppercuts.

Miragliotta said, “What made me stop the fight was the fact that, after the multiple uppercuts by Hendricks, I felt that Sadollah was out and went limp. He fell down to his hands and knees and just stayed there. From where I was, I could not see his eyes to see if he was out, but I felt that he was not defending himself and, after several more punches that went unanswered, I stopped the fight.”

The skyrocketing popularity of MMA combined with former WWE professional wrestler and Fighters.com’s second-ranked heavyweight Brock Lesnar‘s (4-1) rapid ascension to the UFC title has brought hundreds of thousands of new fans to the sport, many of whom aren’t familiar with combat sports and the rules of MMA. Fighters.com ruled the stoppage appropriate immediately after the fight based on Sadollah’s lack of intelligent defense as Hendricks wailed on his head, which is the standard used by MMA referees to ensure the safety of fighters. It’s the responsibility of the fighter to intelligently defend themselves, not the responsibility of the referee to risk the fighter taking permanent damage as the ref tries to verify the fighter’s state of conciousness.

A proud professional, Miragliotta verified his call immediately after the stoppage: “When I stopped the fight and got between Sadollah and Hendricks, Sadollah still looked glassy eyed and asked me what happened. I feel that he was still a little out of it while standing there talking to me.” And, when Fighters.com spoke to Miragliotta, he had just finished watching the fight again to examine his work.

The frightening effects of head injuries are well-documented. The father of former wrestler Chris Benoit blamed the severe brain abnormalities caused by multiple concussions for Benoit’s murder of his wife and child and subsequent suicide. Last March, actress Natasha Richardson passed on after what she considered a mild head bump after a tumble while skiing.

Sadollah is a 28-year old promising martial artist who’ll return from his first loss to win many fights. There was no reason to risk the potential head injury that could’ve been caused by allowing Sadollah to absorb more punishment from Hendricks while Sadollah didn’t defend himself.

Miragliotta made the correct call at UFC 101.

Sadollah lunged forward with a sharp 1-2, but Hendricks weaved a straight left inside Sadollah’s guard. Sadollah backpeddaled and Hendricks stalked with another left that dropped Sadollah. After several undefended left hooks to Sadollah’s head, referee Dan Miragliota ended the fight.

After submitting Cub Swanson (12-2) with a guillotine choke in 35 seconds at his WEC debut in December, Pulver lost the unanimous decision in his five-round battle with current Featherweight Champion “California Kid” Urijah Faber (21-1) in June.

Garcia, who has been battling drug charges, most of which have been dropped, last fought at his WEC debut in February when he TKO’d “Streetfight Bancho” Hiroyuki Takaya (9-5-1) in the first round.

Also official on the WEC 36 card are:

“Indio” Danillo Villefort (8-2) v Jake Rosholt (4-0)
“Razor” Rob McCullough (16-4) v “Cowboy” Donald Cerrone (8-0)
Rani Yahya (11-4) v Yoshiro Maeda (23-5-2)
Johny Hendricks (3-0) v “Russian Crusher” Alex Serdyukov (8-4)
“9mm” Ed Ratcliff (6-1) v Danny Castillo (5-1)

Headlining the event are Faber and Mike Thomas Brown (19-4) in a featherweight title fight, and a middleweight title rematch between Fighters.com’s third-ranked “Ely” Paulo Filho (16-0) and Chael Sonnen (20-9-1).